Arranging graduation
You're about to graduate. That means there’s a lot to be arranged. The university expects you to take certain steps, as does your faculty and/or institute. Your faculty has various regulations and procedures in place that you need to follow carefully when arranging your graduation.
Steps towards graduation
Graduation means there’s a lot to be arranged. Below you will find a general overview of the steps to be taken. Make sure to first read the information provided by your faculty and department, as regulations and procedures can vary.
- You receive the final grade needed to fulfil your examination requirements.
- You request graduation: look under the faculty/study programme tab to find out exactly what steps your programme requires you to take to arrange graduation. You may receive a message from uSis entitled ‘You can graduate’. This message will explain the options available if you wish to delay graduation.
- Your student registration will not automatically be cancelled when you graduate. You have to cancel your registration yourself via Studielink. However de-registration is not compulsory if you have a reason for not wishing to do so. Make sure to carefully read the information on de-registering or re-registering.
Requesting postponement of graduation
If you receive a message from uSis entitled ‘You can graduate’, but you don’t yet want to graduate because you are taking additional courses or an internship that you want to be mentioned on your final transcript, you can request postponement of graduation. Look under your faculty or study programme tab for more information.
Conditions of postponement
The maximum duration of postponement you can request is until you have been registered on your study programme for the official programme duration plus one additional year. For Bachelor’s programmes this is 3+1 years, for most Master’s programmes this is 1+1 year. If you are more than a year behind in your studies your request will not be granted.
Official regulations on postponing graduation
The regulations and agreements concerning the postponement of graduation have been laid down by Leiden University Executive Board in the Leiden University Regulations on Postponing Graduation.
Applying for the master’s exam
Once you have completed all the components of the master’s programme, you have to apply for the final examination yourself. To do so:
- Upload your thesis in the Thesis Repository. You can read here how to do this. NB Please note that your grade for the thesis will not be registered in uSis until you uploaded your thesis!
- Fill in the Webform Masters Exam
- If not all your grades are available at the time when you apply for your master’s exam, you should include that in the webform.
Dates and deadlines master’s exam
The graduation ceremony is organized three times a year, but you can apply for your master’s exam at any time of the year. As soon as your final result is registered, you can apply for your master’s exam via the web form. You can also do this earlier and indicate when you expect your last result. In the web form, you can also specify whether you will be attending the next ceremony or not.
If you do not wish to or cannot attend, you can collect your diploma approximately five weeks after the application deadline at the OSC desk. You will receive information about this via email.
If you are attending the graduation ceremony, you will receive the invitation approximately three weeks before the ceremony.
The overview below lists the application deadlines and ceremony dates. The graduation ceremonies take place during the morning.
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deadline handing in application master’s exam |
Date on master’s degree certificate |
Date of ceremony |
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2025 |
27 June |
30 June |
29 September |
|
|
25 July |
31 July |
|
|
|
25 July * |
29 August |
|
|
|
26 September |
30 September |
9 February
|
|
|
31 October |
31 October |
|
|
|
28 November |
28 November |
|
|
|
19 December |
24 December |
|
|
2026 |
30 January |
30 January |
29 June |
|
|
27 February |
27 February |
|
|
|
27 March |
31 March |
|
|
|
24 April |
30 April |
|
|
|
29 May |
29 May |
|
|
|
26 June |
30 June |
End of September/early October |
|
|
31 July |
31 July |
|
|
|
31 July * |
31 August |
* The application must be submitted by the specified date in July, but your final results may still be submitted until the end of August.
Requesting postponement of graduation
If you do not want to graduate yet (e.g. because you are taking additional courses or an internship that you want to be mentioned on your final transcript), you can request postponement of graduation. To do so, please fill out this form.
Conditions of postponement
The maximum duration of postponement you can request is until you have been registered on your study programme for the official programme duration plus one additional year. For Bachelor’s programmes this is 3+1 years, for most Master’s programmes this is 1+1 year. If you are more than a year behind in your studies your request will not be granted.
Official regulations on postponing graduation
The regulations and agreements concerning the postponement of graduation have been laid down by Leiden University Executive Board in the Leiden University Regulations on Postponing Graduation.